Mediterranean Lentil Soup with Potatoes and Spinach

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Budget-Friendly Staples: Uses simple pantry ingredients like dried lentils, canned crushed tomatoes, root vegetables, and household spices.

• Balanced Nutrition: Packed with plant-based protein from brown lentils, complex carbohydrates from potatoes, and essential vitamins ($A, C, K$) from baby spinach.

• One-Pot Cooking: Minimizes cleanup while maximizing flavor depth by layering aromatic vegetables and spices in a single Dutch oven or heavy soup pot.

• Meal Prep Friendly: Tastes even better the next day as the lentils continue to absorb the herbaceous broth, making it ideal for advance meal planning.

Key Ingredients

To achieve the signature Mediterranean flavor profile, quality matters—especially when it comes to your olive oil and spices.

• 2 tbsp          Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large         Yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 medium        Carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks        Celery, diced
• 4 cloves        Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp           Ground cumin
• 1 tsp           Ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp         Smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp         Dried oregano
• 1 cup           Pardina brown or French green lentils, rinsed and sorted
• 2 medium        Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 can (14.5 oz) Diced or crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
• 6 cups          Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1               Bay leaf
• 3 cups          Fresh baby spinach, packed
• 1 medium        Fresh lemon, juiced (approx. 2-3 tbsp)
• Salt & Pepper   To taste (approx. 1 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper)
• Optional        Crumbled feta cheese, fresh parsley, or red pepper flakes for serving

Step-by-Step Instructions

Chef’s Tips for Success

Lentil Choice Matters: Stick to brown or green lentils for this recipe. Red lentils break down into a smooth porridge-like texture when cooked, whereas brown and green lentils retain their shape while becoming soft, giving the soup a distinct bite.

• Potato Selection: Yukon Gold potatoes hold their shape well while contributing a creamy, buttery mouthfeel. Russet potatoes can be substituted, though they break down more easily into the broth.

• Building Body: If you prefer a thicker, stew-like consistency, use an immersion blender to pulse the soup 2 to 3 times right before adding the spinach. This blends a small portion of the lentils and potatoes, naturally thickening the broth while leaving plenty of whole textures intact.

• Storage & Reheating: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Lentils naturally absorb liquid as they sit, so you may need to add a splash of water or broth when reheating on the stove or in the microwave.

Nutritional Information

Values are estimates per serving (1/6th of total recipe volume / approx. 1.5 cups).